An Answered Prayer
by that-girl-who-likes-dolphins
Summary: After trying again and again to become parents, Marco and Dylan finally have their prayer answered. In fact, it looks like it's getting answered more than once. Established relationship, I guess it's AU now.
1. Sick Day

Exhausted. That was the only word that seemed to fit. After being sick all day, and being unable to get any rest, Marco could only be described as exhausted. He'd have been even more tired if he had done what he wanted to, which was go to work. Marco never missed a day of work, or school, in his life due to being sick. He was the type of person who would go in no matter what. Nothing could ever make him fall behind, until today.

Marco woke up with a fever and sneezing uncontrollably. Despite this he had begun to get dressed for work. Much as he tried to hide it, Dylan could see he was feeling miserable. So Dylan, being the over protective, loving, caring husband that he was, made him lay back down. Marco fought tooth and nail to go to work, but in the end was forced to listen as Dylan called his office and told them he was too ill to come in to work. Marco had wound up following Dylan around the house as he prepared to leave complaining about the phone call. Dylan just let him rant. It wasn't until he was about to walk out the door that he said anything to the younger man and at that point he just told him to get some rest. With a kiss on the forehead and a quick 'I love you' he was off to work.

Marco did try to get some rest, but he could never get comfortable. First he laid on their bed. He turned onto his side and pulled the comforter up to his chin. He was content for about five minutes, and then the heat became unbearable. So he threw off the comforter and laid uncovered on his back. He got too cold. On top of that laying on his back made his back ache, and laying on his side made his arm fall asleep. Nothing felt right so he eventually gave up and went downstairs into the living room. He sat on the couch and looked around the room. He was a little shocked to see that it was a mess. Being who he was he couldn't leave it a mess so he cleaned it. He took all the clothes that had somehow wound up in the living room and started a load of laundry. He then realized that he and Dylan had more clothes that needed to be cleaned, so he gathered all the dirty clothes he could find and got ready to wash those too. Then he vacuumed the living room, and every other carpeted room, which forced him to notice how truly dirty they were. Because they were so dirty he pulled out the machine they had bought about two months ago, but never used, to shampoo the carpets. By the time he had finished that it was time to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer and start a new load.

Marco's day went on like this until nearly five o'clock. He would think everything was finally done and see something else that needed cleaning. At the end of the day the house was spotless and Marco had finally found a comfortable place to rest. He was laying on his back on the couch with his knees bent over one of the arms, one of his arms over his eyes and the other arm hanging limply off the side of the couch. Actually, it wasn't that comfortable, but considering all the work he had done while he was sick, this seemed like as good a place as any.

About half an hour after falling into a semi-conscious state, Dylan came home. He stood at the door frantically surveying the area and when he finally saw Marco he heaved a sigh of relief and rushed over to him. The tall blonde knelt beside the couch and gently shook his ailing husband. Marco slowly moved his arm and looked over at the older man. He was surprised to see thin trails running down his face where the tears were still falling.

"Dylan, what is it? What happened?" Marco wasn't used to seeing his husband crying and it worried him. "Dylan, tell me honey, you know you can tell me."

"Marco, it's finally," he sniffed, "It's finally going to happen." As he said this he smiled then continued, "I was on the way home, and my cell phone rang. I didn't even look at the caller ID, I just answered it."

"Dylan, you should _always_ check the caller ID, I've told you that."

"That's not the point Marco. The point is, it was the agency calling."

"_Oh no, not again." _Marco thought, only to have this thought interrupted.

"Marco, baby, the adoption went through. We're parents. We have a little girl."

This announcement left the two gay lovers crying tears of love and happiness. All thoughts and feelings of exhaustion and sickness were forgotten.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

The two men had been trying to adopt a baby for a few months now, but every time they came close something went wrong and they adoption fell through. Their hearts broke each and every time this happened. Marco would cry, and Dylan would comfort him, despite his own broken heart. Everyone knew how badly they wanted this, especially since they couldn't have children of their own. The couple had actually kept this attempt a secret. They were so tired of the pity, if this one didn't come through they would have kept the heartbreak private, but now the dream was coming true, they had to sign a couple more papers and they would bring their daughter home in about a week.

Dylan was the first to say something after that announcement, "Why don't we go out to eat, you know to celebrate." He suggested.

"That sounds great Dylan." Marco replied with a smile. Unfortunately the idea was ruined by a rather large sneeze from Marco.

"Oh, I'm sorry babe, I forgot you were sick. How about I make dinner instead?"

Marco's eyes widened at the offer, "Dylan, honey, I appreciate the thought, but, well, you can't cook."

"Oh yeah, well I can order something, or pick something up."

"Why don't we just order a pizza, we can celebrate properly another time."

"Alright, now, why don't you lie back down while I go order the pizza and get you cell phone?" Marco gave him a questioning look and Dylan answered the unasked question, "So you can start calling people, you know if we just sit on this news we're gonna hear about it later." Marco laughed a little and nodded.

A few minutes later Dylan walked back into the living room with their house phone against his ear and Marco's cell in his hand. "Yes Mom, a granddaughter. Just over a year. Sure you can Mom. Ok, well Mom. Mom. MOM! I love you, really, but I have to call some more people and let them know. Paige'll kill me if she knows she wasn't told immediately. Ok Mom, I love you too. Bye." He hung up the phone with a sigh and said to Marco, "My parents want to come over next week after we bring Esmeralda home." Esmeralda. Their daughter's name. Esmeralda Jane Michalchuk-Del Rossi. The birth parents insisted that the girl's first name stay Esmeralda, and the two men wouldn't disagree. They had chosen Jane because they felt it that they should honor their baby's birth mother in some way, and that was her name, Jane. The woman had answered their prayers and this was a small thing to do in return. No matter the name they both knew this girl would be surrounded with love.

Marco simply nodded at his husband's statement and began dialing his own parents' number. This was going to be a long, long night of phone calls.

**_Author's Note: I hope you liked it and I hope you keep reading it. I will appreciate any constructive critisism, but please, be nice, I don't handle flames well._**


	2. Night Jog and Back to Work

**_I am so sorry, I wanted to get this up so much sooner, but then I got distracted and I wasn't sure if this was a good chapter ending, but here it is and I hope you enjoy it. _**

* * *

Later that night the couple curled up together under their covers. Their parents had been more than excited when they heard about little Esmeralda, Paige had screamed into the phone, and even Ellie was incredibly vocal on her happiness for the two men. They each called everyone they could think of; they even went so far as to let the pizza guy know about it. Of course he congratulated them with a monotone and repeated the price of their pizza. After the predicted long night of phone calls it had finally been decided that the day they brought home their daughter they would hold a dinner party for all their friends and family to meet their baby girl.

Marco slept soundly that night, but Dylan couldn't seem to settle down. The excitement of the day had left him wound up, rather than wear him out as it had done to the sleeping Italian. Finally the man couldn't just sit there anymore, so he put on a pair of sweat pants and a hooded sweat shirt and coupled it with an old pair of running shoes. He knew that Marco would never approve of the outfit, but Marco was asleep and there was no one else he would want to impress, especially at this hour. With these thoughts in mind Dylan left the house he and his husband would soon be sharing with a little girl and began to jog.

Anyone on the street that night would have seen a nice young man going for a jog, anyone who looked closely would see a man who was at once so joyous and excited, but at the same time terrified. He had so many worries. Was it fair to this child to raise it in such adversity? Would this poor girl going to have a harder life because of her two daddies? What would they do when she needed help with… girly things? And the most prominent thought as he was running, "Am I going to be a good father?"

These thoughts were distracting him to the point where he had no idea where he was anymore. Realizing this Dylan stopped jogging and looked around him. He was at the playground. Both Marco and Dylan had known they had a park nearby; it had actually been one of the selling points when they bought their house. They had been living in the house for about a year and a half. Before that they had been sharing a one bedroom apartment and they decided one day that it was time to move into a bigger space. They were two men with good jobs and decent salaries so finding a house they loved for a price they could handle hadn't been too hard.

Dylan took a deep breath and sat on a swing. He figured he could sit there for a few minutes just to catch his breath and set off toward home again. Slowly he began to swing. First pulling himself back, and then letting go and flying forward. At that moment sleepiness finally kicked in and Dylan began to dream on the swing. He saw a little girl with dark hair. She was probably around two or three and had a huge, innocent smile on her face. It was clear from her face that she had no worries, as it should be with a toddler. His view shifted and he saw a man with dark hair and dark eyes standing behind the girl ready to give her another little push. He was smiling too. This smiling thing was contagious. Dylan felt himself grin slightly at the pictures running through his head. Then he realized that he was still on a swing, in a park.

The jog home didn't take much longer than the jog there, but it was more grueling due to the sudden weariness seeping into him. By the time Dylan reached his door he was more than ready to lie in bed and fall asleep. Unfortunately he had locked the door on his way out and forgotten to take the key. Sighing Dylan knew what he had to do, there was no other way, but that didn't stop the guilt. He pulled out his cell phone and pressed the number two. His speed dial for Marco's cell, one automatically being voice mail. It rang, and rang, and rang. Marco was either ignoring it, or searching for it.

Suddenly Dylan heard the sleepy voice of his husband and lover, "Dylan? Where are you?" He asked failing to stifle a yawn.

"Well you see, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a jog—"

"You locked yourself out didn't you?"

"Yes." He admitted shamefully. Sadly, this wasn't the first time this had happened, which was why he knew that there was no other way but to call Marco.

"I'll be right there, and you better have something nice planned to make this up to me." He said with his sleepiness slowly leaving his voice, but still noticeably present.

"Thank you, honey." Dylan responded trying to sound cute.

Marco just mumbled incoherently and hung up the phone. Less than two minutes later he was at the door. Dylan, hearing the locks being undone, rested one hand on each side of the door frame and waited for it to open. When it did Marco started saying something about being woken up at all hours, but he was interrupted by Dylan's kiss.

The kiss was sweet, loving, and apologetic. With this one kiss he was exempt from all blame. "Thank you baby. If you want I'll just wait outside until morning next time."

Marco shook his head and replied, "No, just try to remember your key." And with that he grabbed his collar and pulled him into the house and into his arms. With that they shared another, more passionate, kiss and closed the door. Marco broke away first and led his husband up to their room where they both finally slept soundly.

* * *

The next day both men went to work. While Marco was still slightly sick, he was feeling well enough that not even Dylan could make him stay home again. Plus since he spent the entire day before cleaning there was nothing left to do. Marco had begun working as a social worker about a year before he married Dylan. Everyone in his office knew Dylan. They had been so happy for him when they first got engaged, then married, then when they had bought their house. They also knew that nothing could keep him away from work. So when he walked into the building the next day he was swarmed by questions concerning his health.

Marco laughed and told them that he had just had a cold and Dylan wouldn't let him go to work. Then he continued, "But that's not important. What's important is this little girl." He said pulling out the picture they had gotten from the agency. After seeing many confused faces he told them why, "This is our soon to be daughter." He said with a smile splitting his face.

His colleagues burst out in congratulations. They, like everyone else the couple was acquainted with, knew about their troubles finding a child to adopt and couldn't be happier with the news. The picture was passed around and people were asking all kinds of question. While they all congratulated him and asked him questions he worked his way over to his desk. Just as he was sitting down one of he coworkers was handing him his picture. When he finally got it back he placed it against a framed picture of himself and Dylan.

This was one of his favorite pictures, but Dylan hated it. That's why it was at his desk, and not at home. It had been taken a couple of days before Dylan proposed to Marco. Marco was feeling a little down about one of his cases at work, but he had to put on a happy face and go to dinner at the Michalchuk's house. Paige's boyfriend had beaten Dylan to the point and asked her to marry him before Dylan could ask Marco, despite having been together much, much longer. Anyway they got through dinner without anything major happening, and afterward they separated. Paige and her fiancé went into the living room along with Marco and Dylan while the Michalchuk parents went into the kitchen with the dishes and to get coffee for them all.

The newly engaged couple sat on the love seat and joked lovingly while the other two sat more closely. Dylan sat on an overstuffed armchair and pulled his lover onto his lap. Dylan tried to talk to him to cheer him up, but to no avail. Next he resorted to faces. He made one ridiculous face after another and it wasn't until the fourth one that Marco even cracked a smile. Getting this encouragement Dylan began to make even more ridiculous faces. After a few more minutes of this Marco couldn't contain his laughter. They were so wrapped up in each other that neither noticed Mama Michalchuk come out with a camera and take a picture of them.

Remembering this day made Marco chuckle slightly. He looked at the giggling face of little Esmeralda and knew that they were bringing her into a good family. No one could love this girl like their family could. He still had concerns and worries, but that seemed only natural to him. Whatever the struggles, he would now have his own little family to work through it with, and nothing could make him happier.


	3. The Baby's Room

"Just because she's a girl doesn't mean we have to paint her room pink." Marco admonished. He and Dylan had been in the store for about an hour looking at paint colors for Esmeralda's room. Dylan was stuck on the traditional pink, since she was a little girl, but Marco was trying his hardest to sway the older man.

"Come on, it's cute, a little girl in her light pink room, just imagine it." Dylan insisted.

"Dylan, that's too normal for us. Everyone has done the pink room, we are not everyone. Besides by painting the room pink we are insinuating that she will be a girly girl, which is an unfair assumption. Since we don't know her personality shouldn't we use a color that doesn't send as much of a message?"

Dylan stared for a minute, "You've been hanging around Ellie too long." The clever remark merely earned him a smack on the back of the head. "Ow! I'm sorry! If not pink then what, what would you suggest, my love?"

"I was thinking yellow. It's a happy color, which would be pleasant for the baby and it's neither too girly nor to boyish."

His husband considered it for a moment. "Okay, yellow will work."

Marco gave an excited smile and began picking up yellow paint chips that seemed appealing. After searching, and narrowing they were down to five choices for the wall colors and four for the trim. Dylan for the life of him could not understand why they had picked up four different white chips when each looked the same as the next. No matter how many times Marco held them against each other he could only see a slight difference between them. The yellows were harder to choose between. They all looked similar, yet infinitely different, even to Dylan's untrained eyes. Marco would ask Dylan's opinion, and then when he would point out the one he liked the most Marco would examine it. After about a minute of examination he would hold up another one and say, "Are you sure you don't like this one better?" At which point he would give in and agree to whatever Marco said. They had gone through pretty much the same thing every time they painted a room.

The first room they had painted was their bedroom. Dylan had begged for green. He knew that green would be perfect, but Marco insisted that blue would be better. Dylan gave in. He still wanted that green, but he let Marco pick a nice blue. As soon as they painted that first stroke onto the wall Dylan knew his husband was right. Then when the room was completely painted and decorated all Dylan could think was how amazing it looked. That day had been a good one for more reasons than that though, Dylan thought sending a smirk toward his husband.

"What?" Marco asked seeing the look in his eye.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about the day we finished our room." He answered wrapping his arms around the shorter man's waist.

Marco laughed and said, "Later babe, we have to get this paint first."

He nodded and asked, "Later? As in, the second we get home?"

Marco grinned, pulled the taller man down by the neck to his level and whispered something into his ear. Whatever it was it made Dylan even more eager than he had been a moment ago. Grabbing Marco by the hand he rushed over to the counter where they could place the order for the two cans of paint. Marco just laughed.

* * *

A few hours later, with Marco's whispered promise fulfilled, the two men began to get dressed in old t-shirts and jeans, or, in Marco's case, his least stylish jeans and one of Dylan's t-shirts. After dressing they laid out a tarp over the carpet in an extra room and opened the first can of paint. They spent the rest of the day working on the bedroom for their little girl. By the end of the day the walls and the trim were done. The next thing they needed to do was furnish and decorate. The day they painted was Saturday, so they would begin the next step the next day. They only had the weekend and whatever time after work to finish the room since they were bringing her home on Friday. She would come home that day, and the Monday after began their holiday. It was getting close to Christmas, so they had time off for that, unfortunately Marco would sometimes have to go into work anyway, people needed help all the time, even during the holidays, but his boss had agreed to only call him in for emergencies. 

As the couple began to clean up after themselves Marco looked at the now yellow tarp. While they had been painting his big kid of a husband decided to see how he would look if he were yellow. It started with just one splotch on Marco's face, but it soon escalated into an all out paint fight. By the time they were done they knew that the clothes they were wearing would never be the same. On top of that Marco now had yellow highlighting his dark hair. Dylan also had paint in his hair, but it wasn't as visible as Marco's because his hair was blond unlike his husband's very brown hair. If there ever were two men who were nothing alike it was Marco Del Rossi and Dylan Michalchuk, but then again, that's just how they liked it.

* * *

The next day the couple brought in all their friends and family. They needed help bringing in the furniture, moving the furniture around and they just wanted to spend time with them and being congratulated always felt good. Marco's dad had loaned him a van to make moving the stuff from one location to another easier. In addition his mom had volunteered to make food for everyone who was coming out to help them. 

The first person to arrive, other than the Del Rossis, was Ellie. She walked straight into the house without bothering to knock. Anytime the two men were home alone this was not a good idea, but since she knew they were expecting people she didn't think twice about it. When she walked in she was greeted by the wonderful smell of Italian home cooking and the laughter of two overgrown boys. She went further into the house and into the living room seeing the soon to be dads on the couch play fighting, which mostly consisted of tickling each other.

"Do I even want to know how this started?" She asked with a smile.

Dylan stopped tickling Marco and sat up. He was still straddling Marco, but neither seemed to mind. "I don't think we even know to be perfectly honest. El." The blond told her.

Marco gave his husband a slight shove signaling him to get off him so that he could greet his best friend. Dylan sighed and slowly stepped onto the floor. He offered Marco his hand, which he accepted and rushed over to his red headed friend. He pulled her into a hug which she reciprocated.

"I'm so glad you could come Ellie, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

She laughed, "You saw me last week."

"Really? It was that recently. I guess so much has happened it just seems like it should have been so much longer ago."

She laughed at the Italian's enthusiasm and the pair walked over to the couch. Dylan had sat back down so Marco sat next to him. The older man wrapped an arm around his husband's shoulders and the younger man turned to lean against him comfortably while he talked to Ellie sitting on his other side. This scene wasn't an unusual one, but it still made Ellie smile to see the two so at ease with each other.

It seemed only yesterday that Ellie had been pretending to be Marco's girlfriend because he was too afraid to admit that he was gay. Then once she finally 'broke up' with him he was still so terrified of his sexuality, even after he and Dylan had been dating for a while he couldn't tell his parents the truth. Now, here he was, so many years later, out for the world to see, and unashamed to be happy with who he was. So many times his happiness had been threatened, by strangers in the park, by his father, even by Dylan. Despite everything he continued on and he built a wonderful life with the man of his dreams. Ellie was jealous, but ecstatic for him at the same time.

She looked at him and she still saw that boy from high school. She had always loved him. She was so happy to finally be dating him, you would think that she would have resented him for his homosexuality, but instead her love changed from that of a girlfriend to that of a best friend, and they were both better off for it. While they were talking Paige walked in. She saw a completely different Paige from the girl she knew in high school. She was more responsible and much less self centered. Ellie like to think her husband had done that for her. He was a successful business man who never let his wife get too out of hand. One thing that hadn't changed though, Paige had a wonderful sense of style, it just would never be anywhere near Ellie's.

When Paige walked in she disturbed the peace the three had settled into, however unintentionally. Dylan hadn't seen his little sister or her son in about a month and was very ready to play the doting uncle. When he stood he caused Marco to fall backward onto the couch, and then pick himself up. Paige's son, Andrew, was about two years old and consequently a handful. Dylan never minded though, he could spoil the boy unbelievably, and then send him home with his mother, never having to deal with the mess he made.

Paige knew this was coming when she handed the boy off to his Uncle Dylan, but did it anyway. "I can't wait for you to have one of your own, so I can spoil her then give her back to you. Payback is something horrible, bro." She told him.

"She's right Dyl. Try not to spoil him too much this time. You know she'll do it to us." Marco yelled from the couch.

"Fine, fine." Dylan said to the two adults, then to the toddler he said, "They're just no fun, huh Andy?" The boy giggled and put his hands on both of Dylan's cheeks. He squeezed and the older man made a face at him, which just made him giggle more.

Paige shook her head slightly at the two and walked over to the couch. "Hey hun, how are you?" She asked Marco.

"I'm fine." He responded. "Just really really excited."

She said, "Completely understandable. You get all the joys of parenthood without the pains of pregnancy. I'm jealous."

Marco and Ellie laughed a little at her and he said, "You know, you could always adopt, or be a foster parent. We're always looking for well off families to take in a child in need."

"Oh, Marco, you know that sounds great, but now's not a good time."

Marco gave her a confused look and her brother began to listen to the conversation more closely from across the room again. "Why?" he asked.

"Well, I was going to wait until the dinner party this week, but," she took a breath, "I'm pregnant." She told them. They all began to congratulate her and ask her the normal questions.

Marco's parents, hearing all the noise came into the room. "What is going on?" Mr. Del Rossi asked. They told him that Paige was pregnant again and Mrs. Del Rossi hugged her as if she were her own daughter. The two families had really merged well when their boys married. It was slightly awkward at first spending holidays together, remembering to invite them to family outings, and just always being around each other, but eventually it was as if they had been a family all their lives.

* * *

The last person to show up was Spinner. The moving of furniture turned out to not need so many people so by the time he arrived it was mostly done, but it was still nice to have him around. They were all friends and big get togethers like this didn't happen often. When everyone had finally arrived they turned on some light music and gathered around the large dining room table to eat dinner. 

Dylan looked around the table at everyone gathered. Sitting on his right was, of course Marco. Looking around the rest of the table were his parents, Marco's parents, Paige, her husband John, Andrew, Ellie, Spinner, Jimmy, and Dylan's best friend Matt. Dylan decided this was as good a time as any. He cleared his throat and said, "Well, um, Marco and I just want to thank everyone for all the help and support. And, um, well we want to have Esmeralda baptized into the Catholic Church. They may not approve of our relationship, but we want our daughter to be baptized. Anyway the point is," He paused, "Marco?"

"Well," Marco began, "We just want to ask our best friends if they'll be the godparents. So, Ellie? Matt? What do you say?"

Ellie squealed uncharacteristically and jumped up to hug Marco, which everyone just assumed was a yes, while Matt stood quietly to give Dylan a 'guy hug' the kind of hug where they slap each other's back. This was more for Matt's sake, since he was straight. This was also taken for a yes.

The night ended like this: Marco's parents were excited about their granddaughter being a Catholic, Dylan's parents were just happy that their son was happy. Ellie was excited to be a godmother, Matt was glad to be the godfather, Paige was jealous that she wasn't the godmother, but was consoled by being a mother, and in general everyone was content. Life was wonderful, only their daughter was missing.

* * *

**_Here is chapter three. I hope you like it and I think the baby will be coming home in the next chapter, but don't hold me to that._**


	4. Esmeralda and Jane

**_Here is chapter four of _An Answered Prayer. _I just wanna thank everyone for reading through this and I want to apologize because I forgot the disclaimer. Here it is: I don't, nor I have I ever, owned Degrassi, or any of it's characters._**

**_I especially want to thank two people. dylanfan87 for always reviewing and Megan because I know you're reading this and you are probably the only reason I got this up tonight._**

**_Anywho, on with the story!_**

* * *

The week passed quickly, but still much to slowly for the excited soon to be parents. Their work was more grueling, the days couldn't end fast enough, and as the day approached it became harder and harder to get to sleep. When the day finally came to pick up their daughter for the first time things were hectic. Marco couldn't find his favorite shirt, nothing Dylan put on looked right and the two men could not stop bickering.

"Dylan, you cannot wear those shoes."

"Why not?"

"They're black."

"So? I thought black was good."

"Black is good, but not with navy blue pants."

"So why don't I change the pants?"

"Fine, Dylan, whatever you want." Marco said, exasperation evident in his voice.

"Oh gee, thanks." He answered sarcastically.

Marco suddenly realized how ridiculous the situation was. He laughed and said, "Shut up, you jerk. I was only trying to help."

"I know babe, I'm just nervous I guess." He replied.

"Well, we'll be fine." The shorter man told him with a quick peck on the lips. He then smiled and said, "We're getting our baby today."

The blond smiled back and said, "You just realizing that?" Both men laughed and continued to get ready.

About an hour later they were sitting outside of an office waiting to finish signing the adoption papers. Dylan's nervousness hadn't subsided any during the wait, and it was showing through his leg which he couldn't stop from shaking. Marco, sitting next to him, tried to ignore it, he tried to let it go, but after a point he just couldn't take it.

He put his hand on his husband's thigh and said, "It's ok. Just calm down." He then took a deep breath and let it out motioning for Dylan to do the same. Dylan's leg had stopped shaking the moment Marco's hand touched it, but as he mimicked the younger boy the urge to jiggle his leg diminished.

After a few breaths Dylan smiled shyly and said, "Thanks for that."

"No problem." The Italian responded picking up the hand resting near his.

The two sat in this way, with small smiles and joined hands, for another five minutes before they were finally ushered into office. Marco took one last deep breath and let himself be led into the room. He felt a rush of excitement when the door closed behind them. To him the door was closing on every hard time they had endured to get to this moment and it was so worth it.

It was only a few minutes later when he was signing his name for the last time. Dylan signed next, and finally there were no more papers. The man behind the desk looked over the papers one last time before returning his gaze to the couple in front of him. He smiled and led them out of his office once again. Dylan took a deep breath and grasped the hand of the dark haired man walking next to him. This was it. Down a hallway and through another door and they would finally have their daughter in their arms.

They reached the door. The man they had been following opened it slowly and peeked in. Seeing that all was clear he opened the door the rest of the way and led the couple inside. There they found a young woman holding a little baby girl, their little baby girl, Esmeralda.

The woman holding her looked up at the men. "Hi," she whispered. "She's sleeping." The two men nodded and she slowly stood up. "I'm Jane. I just wanted to be here, to meet the people who were adopting her." She smiled a little sadly.

Marco responded first, "I'm so glad to meet you Jane, I'm Marco Del Rossi, and this is my husband Dylan Michalchuk."

"Well, um, here, she is yours now." She told him handing over the sleeping baby.

Marco accepted the child calmly as to disguise how anxious he had been to hold her in his arms. He held her closely and looked into her face. Seeing the innocence despite her closed eyes brought tears to his eyes. Without looking away he said to Dylan, "Oh my God, look at her. She's beautiful."

Dylan reached out to put his finger in the one of the small hands of his daughter and said, "She is. She really is." They took in everything about her. Her dark skin, her even darker curls, and just in general how tiny she was. Neither man could believe that after all the waiting finally she was there, in the arms of her papa. "Hi there, Esmeralda." Dylan went on, "You are precious."

Slowly she woke up and instead of crying, as they had expected, she yawned. The sight only made her parents laugh a little. Marco, seeing Dylan get more and more anxious to hold her, but not wanting to rush him, kissed her forehead and gave her to his husband. He looked at the pair for a moment with love in his eyes, then he turned his gaze to Jane. The woman who was giving up her baby and giving her to them, making a dream come true.

She was young, probably in either grade eleven or twelve. She had dark hair and skin, much like her baby and seemed to be a Latina. Her face was young but you could see in her eyes that she was sad, and had gone through a lot. Marco had seen this a few times. She was too young to care for another human being, probably too selfish, which isn't to be mean, but many teenagers are, whether they are generally selfish or not.

Jane had been watching Dylan and Esmeralda then moved her focus to Marco when she felt his eyes on her. "So, Marco, is it?" she asked. Marco nodded and she continued, "Well, what do you and your husband do?"

"Well I'm a social worker, and Dylan is the Vice President at Fuzzy Putty Advertising Company."

Jane's eyes widened at this news. She knew that they were a well off family, but she never knew that one of the adoptive parents had such a high powered job in a well known company. All at once she felt intimidated and grateful. These people could take care of the baby in a way she would never have been able to, and at this point that was all that mattered.

The two men walked out of the agency with smiles on their faces and a baby in their arms. Well technically she was only in the arms of one of the men, who happened to be Marco. The little girl was now fully awake and was being balanced on her Papa's hip. She looked completely unconcerned. Jane had told the little girl that these men were her new dads. The girl just giggled and began to play with her Daddy's blond hair (It had been decided that Dylan would be Dad, or Daddy, while Marco would be Pa or Papa).

Marco opened the back passenger side door and put his daughter into her car seat. She began to cry a little when she realized that no one would be staying in the back seat with her, but the men knew it was important not to give in to her tantrums. Soon she was distracted by something out the window and continued to stare out it with wonder fitting to an infant. When they got to the house Dylan got the diaper bag while Marco got Esmeralda. At this point she was once again near sleep. It had been an eventful day, especially for a child so young, just barely a year. The little girl was very interested in her new surroundings but soon she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and just fell asleep in Marco's arms.

Eventually they reached the room that had been prepared for this little girl and placed her in her bed. They made sure she was comfortable, turned off her light and turned on a small night light. The new fathers stood in the doorway for a few minutes after making sure they had turned on the baby monitor. Neither could believe that this was finally happening. It was as if God decided that they had been through enough hardship and rewarded their perseverance.

They stared at the sleeping figure. She had adjusted quickly, not even seeming to question these new people carrying her around. She would probably always know that she was adopted, but at the same time, she would never doubt that she was loved. Dylan ushered Marco out of the room to let the girl sleep in peace. He wanted to talk to his husband and also knew that they had to start preparing for all the guests that would come later.

"I know that she's not biologically ours, but I still feel this enormous amount of pride when I look at her." Marco told his husband.

The blond smiled and took Marco's hand while saying, "I know exactly what you mean. When we were driving here, I kept looking in the rearview mirror at her, just to reassure myself that she was there. She was real, and really ours. I had to know I wasn't dreaming." He sighed, "I still can't believe that little girl in there is _our _daughter."

"Believe it honey, and she will be for the rest of our lives. We're parents, through thick and thin." Marco said happily, then he began to panic. "Wait, Dylan, what if she doesn't like us? What if she's treated differently because of us? What if she resents us? Oh God Dylan, what if I'm a bad father?"

The blue-eyed man in front of him laughed slightly and said, "Just the fact that you care enough to worry, that says a lot babe. Besides, it is entirely impossible for you to be anything but a good father. You have so much love to give, and Esmeralda will see that. She will never hate you. Trust me." Dylan concluded, comforting his younger husband.

"You're just saying that to get into my pants." The Italian joked.

Dylan laughed, "While I will never say no to that proposition, I said that because it's true, and you know it." Marco just wrapped his arms around Dylan, and snuggled into his chest, nodding as he did so. And there they stood for a good ten minutes, just content to be together, identical smiles on both faces. That is, until she began to cry. With that the couple was officially inducted into parenthood.


	5. Meeting the Baby

**_Woohoo, new chapter! I still don't own Degrassi, or any of it's characters._**

* * *

The new parents were slowly learning how to handle the normal household responsibilities along with a baby. They had just gotten Esmeralda to stop crying when Marco realized that he had to start cooking dinner, knowing that the meal he was making would take all day. While he was doing that Dylan was baby proofing the living room and he kept the baby monitor near him so that he would know if she woke up again. She did wake up again around lunch time. Dylan heard her cry so he went to get her from her room. 

He brought the little girl into the kitchen, "Hey Papa, look who's awake. And I think she's hungry." Dylan said to his husband.

Marco turned to face the pair and said, "Hey Esme, did you have a good nap?" She returned the question with a smile and a giggle. She clapped her hands, but when she nearly lost her balance she quickly wrapped her arms tightly around Dylan's neck. Her dads watched with delight, grateful that she had taken to them almost instantly and very well. They fed her and succeeded in making a grand mess of it, as often happens with babies. After lunch the parents took their small daughter upstairs and bathed her. When she was once again squeaky clean they dressed her in a new dress they had purchased just for the occasion.

By the time this was all done Marco had to get back to the food, to check on the main dish and start the side dishes. Whilst he was doing that Dylan took Esmeralda into the, now baby proofed, living room and let her explore her new home. He watched her carefully and did not let her get into anything that she could destroy, or anything that could harm her. She eventually got bored crawling around convinced that she had surveyed every inch of the place that her daddy would let her. Seeing his daughter was in need of amusement Dylan joined her on the floor and began to play mindless games with her. Her favorite was peek-a-boo. It was quickly becoming the blond man's favorite game as well. Each time she watched him disappear, then reappear, as if by magic, she would get this look of shear joy on her face that didn't diminish no matter how many times she saw him do it. It was enough to make anyone with a heart grin.

It was only so long before Marco got lonely in the kitchen and came in to join the games. This is how they were when the bell rang. Their first guest of the evening had arrived. Before either man even had a chance to react they heard the door open and a voice rang through the house.

"Where's my niece? Where is that gorgeous baby girl?" Called Paige.

"Living room!" the Italian and his husband called back.

She rushed into the room and stopped suddenly when she saw the three sitting on the floor. For once in her life not caring if her skirt was wrinkled as a result, Paige sat on the floor and looked into the eyes of her brother's baby. "Hey there hun. I'm you Aunt Paige." She cooed softly.

The baby had a look of panic when she saw the new person coming awfully close to her. She turned to her papa and reached out to him desperately. Marco seeing the look in her eyes felt his fatherly instincts kick in. He took the small baby into his arms and assured her that everything was alright. While he was doing that Dylan looked over at his disgruntled sister. She was pouting and looked very upset by the whole thing.

"Don't worry sis, she's still getting used to everything, just let her adjust. She'll come to you when she's ready."

Paige wasn't very comforted by this and turned to Marco with a look just begging for help. "It's okay Esme. She's not going to hurt you. Look." Marco said to the frightened infant while reaching over to Paige to give her a quick hug. It was slightly awkward with his daughter clinging to him and her face buried in his neck, but he needed to show her that Paige was friendly. Seeing this stranger taking her Papa's attention brought the girl's face out of his neck. She looked at Paige, then at Marco and back to Paige. Somewhere in these looks she decided that Paige was okay and consequently took one arm from around Marco's neck and stretched toward Paige.

Paige leaned over to accept the girl into her arms, but soon found out that she had other plans. Esmeralda wanted it all. She grabbed Paige's neck without letting go of Marco's. While Paige found the situation a little uncomfortable her brother and his husband seemed to find it amusing. Marco began to coax the girl's hand out of its resting place to give her fully to his sister-in-law. As he was going through this process John walked into the room with Andrew.

"She waited as long as she could, and I tried to make her wait longer, but she just had to meet Es—" John stopped when he saw the situation between his wife, brother-in-law and niece. "Well, I don't think I even want to know." Andrew, in his dad's arms, was getting restless and squirming. John, realizing that the boy wasn't going to stop anytime soon, put his son down on the floor. The two-year old took off toward Dylan and jumped on him with about as much force as he could. Dylan played along and purposely fell backward.

They played for about a minute before sitting up. Andrew looked at his mom holding the unfamiliar baby girl and said, "Uncle Dylan, who dat?" He asked in a childish accent.

"That," Dylan responded, "Is your new cousin, Esmeralda."

Andrew looked at her with a newfound interest. "Your baby? And Uncle Marco's?" Dylan nodded. The toddler looked at each of his uncles. "But how come you didn't get fat like daddy said mommy is going to?"

The other adults in the room tried not to laugh as Dylan struggled to find an answer. "Uh, well, um. You see uh…."

Taking pity on his husband Marco pulled Andy into his lap and took over explaining. "Well, Andy your mommy is going to get bigger because her baby is growing inside of her. Our baby didn't grow inside of either of us."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because only mommies can have babies inside them, not daddies."

"Oh." He replied looking away for a second. When he looked up again he said, "Can I play with her?" with an excited look.

The parents in the room laughed and Marco said, "Sure you can, but you have to be gentle with her, she's still little." He nodded and made his way over to his mom, who was still holding the little girl. Marco and Paige sat with their children on the floor while Dylan and John sat on the couch and talked about whatever it is men talk about with their brothers-in-law. They were sitting comfortably, just enjoying the company when the doorbell rang once again.

It seemed that no one required an invitation to come into the house today, because the visitors just walked into the house and into the room where the rest of the family was gathered. "Hello, hello, hello! Look who's here!" came a voice. It was Mrs. Michalchuk, but she was disguising her voice to sound like Elmo. Before anyone saw her face they saw a brand new Tickle Me Elmo™.

"Aw mom. Did you have to get her one of those things? You know how I feel about Elmo!" As a matter of fact she did. Only two people did. His mom and Marco. He had felt it was necessary to tell Marco when they were first discussing adopting a baby. They had agreed to never have anything Elmo in the house for his sake.

"Dylan, darling, you are a grown man, you have a family, if you can't get over this, at least push it aside for your daughter."

The blond took in a breath and released it slowly, "Mom, Marco and I have discussed this: there will be no Elmo."

"Dylan, have I not taught you better than this? It is rude to turn away a gift."

Marco knew that this could go on for a very long time so he stopped it. He picked up his daughter and walked over to his mother-in-law. "How about a trade, you give me Elmo, and I'll hand over your granddaughter."

The woman gave a slight squeal and shoved Elmo toward the Italian. "Deal!"

Marco relinquished the little girl to her grandmother and took the toy from her. He laughed at how easily her attention could be averted and he took the offending toy into the hallway and put it in a hall closet. Dylan had been ashamed to admit it, but he was absolutely terrified of Elmo. He had been since he was in his early teens. It was strange that the fear hadn't arisen until then, but that was when he got a real good look at him. This little puppet just gave him such a feeling of fear he would shiver at thought of him. He could never understand why people loved that creepy little fur ball, but he also was unable to express this hear to anyone other than his husband and his mother, two people he knew would never judge him or tease him because of it.

Marco shook his head slightly and continued walking, this time into the kitchen. He would probably give the toy to Andrew, since he had told Dylan that Elmo would stay out of their house. It was as he was putting the finishing touches on dinner that the rest of their dinner party arrived. The grandparents fought to see the baby while everyone present showered her with attention and gifts. After ten minutes she was reaching and crying out for her parents. All the attention was making her nervous and slightly frightened.

"Okay guys, I know you want to get close to her, but this is a whole new situation and there are a lot of new people around her. You need to take it slow with her." Marco announced. Everyone backed off, but they were still trying to win her approval in small ways. They would coo at her and give her subtle signs, anything to warm her up to them.

When Esmeralda finished eating she looked at the people around her. Only one person hadn't stopped trying to gain her affection: Spinner. He was sitting directly across from her at the table and spent most of the meal making funny faces at the infant. Every other person in the room was distracted by something else, and it wasn't until she began to giggle that anyone noticed the boy and his antics.

"Aw, look at Spinner! How cute!" Jimmy teased.

Spinner slapped his shoulder and said, "Shut up."

"Hey! You can't hit a guy in a wheel chair!"

"Oh yeah wanna bet?" Spinner threatened. Before it could go any further Esmeralda began to cry.

"You guys, cut it out, you're upsetting her." Dylan said standing up to get his daughter. When he did, though, she began pointing to someone else. Dylan followed the finger and saw that it was directed at Spinner.

"You wanna go see Spinner? Huh? Okay. Spin, get over here." The man's voice switched suddenly from one of love and understanding to one full of demand.

Spinner hurried over to the little girl and she quickly grasped his neck., before her daddy could even let go of her. "Hey there, you. You sure are cute." She smiled at the compliment and Spinner continued to give them.

This entire scene put a smile on Marco's face. He knew already after one day with their daughter that she was going to be a daddy's girl. Dylan would lay down his own life for the little girl. It was a good thing Marco was around to keep the older man in check, otherwise Esmeralda would be completely spoiled. Marco looked at the people around him, similar to what his husband had done about a week before. Everyone was there, and it was the way he wanted it to be forever. Christmas would be coming soon. Their first as a family, but definitely not their last. They had adopted her at a perfect time, they wouldn't have to go in to work, so they could get closer to Esme. Everything was falling into place, it was by no means the life Marco, or his parents, had imagined it would be when he was much younger, it was even better.

* * *

**_Ok, I hope I didn't make Dylan seem to wimpy with the Elmo thing, I just thought it would be cute and/or funny or something... And it's actually based on my fear of The Wiggles. I call it the Wiggle Complex. Mine really is the Wiggles, Dylan's is Elmo._**


	6. Family Time Interrupted

**_Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned Degrassi or any of its characters._**

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After that first day the three people began to do more and more as a family. They went Christmas tree shopping together, they decorated the house, and trimmed the tree together. They enjoyed every moment of it. During the last week before the holiday friends and family stopped by every once in a while and dropped off presents for the family. Of course, most of the presents were for Esmeralda. By Christmas Eve there was no more room beneath the tree.

The baby had been put to bed and was sleeping soundly. This day had been a busy one for all of them. They had given out the last of their presents to everyone and run all around town showing Esme the houses and businesses with the best lights and decorations. She had laughed and giggled and just been the happiest little girl they had ever seen, as well as the cutest. Marco and Dylan hadn't thought they could ever love her more than they had the day they first held her in their arms, but were proven wrong each and every day. Every time she smiled, laughed, cried, or even just looked at them they found room for even more love. It was as if she taught their heart to grow, and they made her so incredibly happy.

"I think, Marco, our little family is about as close to perfect as anyone could ever hope to be." Dylan told his husband that night. They were sitting on their couch in just looking at their Christmas tree in all it's lit up glory. It had random ornaments collected from Christmases before and after the two had met. Neither had ever understood the point of having matching ornaments. Their tree was a mix of their interests, their families, and in a way, a timeline of their lives.

"You know, you just might be right." Marco said with a smile. "I love you Dylan. And I love our beautiful baby girl."

"I love you too, Marco, and Esmeralda. I can't imagine a better baby." He smiled and turned to his husband and, slowly leaned down, and felt a familiar jolt of electricity when their lips gently met. It began as a gentle, loving kiss, and gradually became one filled with much more fire and passion. Soon Marco found himself on top of his blond god whose back was lying against their sofa cushions. Hands explored familiar territory and two men were enjoying each other very much. A month before they would have finished what they were doing right there on the couch, but now made the choice to go to their bedroom. They knew that the one-year old wouldn't come down and see anything, but they also knew that she wouldn't be one forever and they should learn to keep their trysts behind closed doors.

Instead of stopping what they were doing they rearranged themselves so that Dylan could carry his small husband to their room. It was terribly cliché. The blonde carried the younger man bridal style and after walking through the bedroom door pushed it closed with his foot, all without stopping their kiss.

* * *

The next morning they were awakened very suddenly by a very loud sound. Esmeralda was crying. Dylan moaned and turned over, briefly hoping it would stop as Marco began to sit up wearily and rub his eye. Their day had been tiring, but their night had been exhausting. After a few more seconds both men were out of bed and putting on the bare minimum of clothes that they could and still feel comfortable. For Dylan this meant that he put on a pair of pajama pants and nothing else, Marco put on his pajama pants and a t-shirt feeling the cold that comes from sleeping without a blanket during the winter. The still sleepy pair slowly made their way over to their baby. 

Marco walked into the room only seconds before Dylan and picked Esmeralda up from where she had been sleeping. "Merry Christmas Esme." Marco cooed. She clung to her papa and gradually stopped crying. She gave her fathers small yawn and a sleepy smile. Both men grinned happily at their daughter and Dylan wrapped his arms around the young father's waist. His chin was resting on the man's shoulder so they both took advantage of that by turning to each other and sharing a brief peck.

* * *

A few hours and many piles of wrapping paper later Esmeralda and her parents were learning to how to play with all her new toys. They all sat in a circle on the floor and watched the baby as she enjoyed being spoiled by her extended family and parents friends, even when they weren't there. It was a cute little scene and Marco filed it away to think about later when he didn't feel like focusing on work. He stared at his young daughter and the huge smile splitting her face. She was just so distracting. The Italian hardly noticed when Dylan stood up to answer the ringing phone. 

"You are so sweet, you know that Esme?" Marco asked his daughter. She didn't respond, but he hadn't expected her to.

Dylan came back into the room after asking the caller to wait a second, "Marco, it's someone from your office. Apparently they need your help with something."

Marco groaned and muttered something about how this better be important to call on Christmas day. "Hello?" Marco said borderline grumpily.

"Marco? Thank God!" I desperate voice came across the line. "She's here and she won't talk to anyone except you. I know it's your first Christmas with your daughter, but we really need you here."

Marco knew who was talking, she was slightly new at his office, but was very promising. At this point though, Marco felt more concerned for the person she was speaking about. "Who? Who's there?"

"It's Megan." She may or may not have continued talking after that, Marco never knew because he was already heading upstairs to put on some jeans and two minutes later, he was out the door.

* * *

Less than ten minutes after hanging up the phone Marco was rushing into his office. Normally the drive would have taken about fifteen, but there was hardly anyone else on the road, and he was in a hurry. When he got to the building he pushed the door open and all but ran past the reception area. He hurriedly walked to the area where his and his colleagues' desks were located. Brenda, the girl who had called him, rushed up to him the moment she saw him. 

"Where is she?" Marco asked, worry apparent in his voice.

"She's sitting at your desk; she won't let anyone near her."

Marco stormed on. He wasn't worried about her not letting him near her, he was one of the only men she would talk to on her good days, on bad days he was the only person she would say more than five words to. She trusted him for some reason. He walked up to his desk and saw her sitting there. She was staring at his pictures, which was something she often did when she was there. When he got to her he crouched down next to her. She knew he was there and Marco knew that. She would talk when she was ready.

After a minute or two she said, "This one's new." She picked up the picture of Esmeralda that he brought in after finding out that the adoption was going through.

He smiled despite the situation, "Yeah, she's my daughter. Dylan and I just adopted her." This girl knew about his family. It had been his belief when trying to get her to talk when they first met that she would feel more comfortable talking about her life if he told her about his.

"She's cute."

"Yeah she is." With this the young girl began to cry. Marco came out of his crouching position to hold her while the tears poured. He knew from experience that this crying could go on for a while. The first time she had come to the office she was actually coming on referral to another social worker, but she never got to him. When she walked in she had seen Marco and Dylan. Dylan was there bringing the younger man something he had forgotten at home. Seeing the two men together made her feel like she could talk to him easier than the man she was supposed to speak with. So she did end up with Marco, to everyone's confusion. Despite requesting the Italian she wouldn't talk to him at first, so he talked to her. After a few sessions and lots of coaxing her story finally came out.

She had gone to a party at a nearby college, though she was still in high school. Megan and her friends were walking to their houses in order of proximity to the party, and she lived furthest away. About two blocks away from her street she was pulled into a small alley between two small family owned shops. The man who had grabbed her quickly put his hand over her mouth and warned her not to scream. She was so terrified that she listened. Her attacker was satisfied that she wasn't going to bring attention to them and he removed his hand from her mouth. He then proceeded to rape her. It was a horrible experience one she had been living with ever since. Marco was the first person she told and it had happened a week ago.

Thinking back on it then, nearly two months after her attack, he was still sickened by the thought of anyone being depraved enough to take away the beautiful young girls innocence and trust in the world. She was a cheerleader in grade ten. She had light brown hair and gorgeous green eyes. Ever since he had known her those eyes had had an emptiness in them and it always broke his heart to see it. He gently soothed her and she calmed down slightly.

She pulled herself out of Marco's arms and wiped her now red eyes. She took a deep breath and told Marco the news that had so devastated her. "Marco… I'm pregnant."

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**_Woohoo, I guess that's my cliffie. Um not much else to say... I hope you enjoyed and please review!_**


	7. Lullabies Aren't Just for Babies

**_Ok, that took longer than I expected. Once again I wanna thank my friend who's reading this for reading it and urging me to write the next chapter constantly. And I want to thank everyone who is sticking with the story and reviewing. _**

**_Disclaimer: I do not now nor have I ever owned Degrassi or any of its characters._**

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Marco opened his car door and plopped into his seat with a sigh. It was barely one in the afternoon and he felt as though it should be at least ten at night. The social worker took a breath and slid his car key into the ignition. He slowly pulled out of the parking space. What had started out as a wonderful Christmas morning turned into a strange and slightly difficult Christmas afternoon. Marco thought back on all that had happened in those few hours. Many tears, a hard phone call, and many, many soothing words had taken all that time, time away from his small, but wonderful, family. On Christmas no less!

Marco knew that an important, and possibly uncomfortable, conversation was coming up. With that in mind he began rehearsing a speech to not only convince Dylan, but also himself. All too soon Marco was pulling into his driveway. He took the key out of the ignition and rested his forehead on the steering wheel between the hands he hadn't removed from it. He took a deep breath and told himself it wouldn't be too bad, but even he didn't believe that.

"She want's us to _what_?" Dylan asked the astonishment clear in his voice.

"You heard me Dylan." Marco replied.

"But why us? And _now?_"

"Well I'm sorry she didn't get raped and impregnated at a more convenient time." The Italian responded sarcastically.

Dylan sighed, "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"What did you mean then?"

"It's just, well, we just adopted Esmeralda. Do you really think it'd be a good idea to bring another baby into the house?"

"It wouldn't be for another seven months. Besides I never said I wanted to do it, I said I wanted us to think about it."

"Ok, but why does she want us?"

"Well, she trusts me, and you're my husband, so she trusts you by extension. She knows that we'll raise the baby right and she'd be able to see it. She's just so young; she can't handle a baby, let alone one that's a product of rape."

"Why can't you find a home for her baby, why do we have to take it?"

"Dylan, this rape was violent and demeaning. It's given her serious trust issues, she doesn't want this child to go to just anyone." Marco was slowly shifting from husband mode to social worker mode. Both men noticed, but neither said anything. "Think of it this way Dyl. If Paige had been impregnated when she was raped, and she decided to put it up for adoption, do you think she would have been more comfortable with the child being in the hands of total strangers, or with a couple she knew? Or if, God forbid, Esme was in this situation. Wouldn't you want to know that your grandchild was being taken care of?"

Dylan looked to the heavens for strength then muttered, "Merry Christmas. Here's a new baby."

"So that means you'll think about it?"

"What else could I do after that speech?" Marco smiled at his husband, whose face was still tilted toward the ceiling. The blond took a breath and faced the younger man, "Do you want to adopt Megan's baby?"

"I don't know. I think it'd be a good thing to do. I mean when we adopted Esmeralda, it was more for us than for her, or for Jane. But this baby, well, this one will really need us, you know? Not that we didn't do a good thing adopting Esme, it was just for more selfish reasons. Plus, I just know that we'll love this baby too, if we do end up taking it."

"Which is still a pretty big if." Dylan pointed out.

Marco nodded his agreement and knew that this was a conversation to be continued later, especially when Esmeralda began to cry. She had been taking a nap when Marco got home and was just waking up.

"I'll get her." Marco said. He stood from his chair at the kitchen table and made his way to her bedroom.

"What's wrong _la mia bambina_?" Marco asked letting his Italian slip out. When the girl continued crying he picked her up and held her close. "Shh, it's okay sweetheart. Papa's here. I'm here." All his soothing words and soothing sounds were lost on the child nearing hysterics. She had eaten just before her nap, so she wasn't hungry. She didn't need to be changed, so what could it be? Maybe she just had a bad dream or something. With that thought in mind he began to sing a soft song. It was one he knew well. A slow, soft sweet song and one he had always enjoyed.

"_Often times I dream of music,_

_Of the river that freely flows._

_And it sings a song_

_Sweeter than honey,_

_One everybody knows._

_Late I night I hear it singing_

_Then again when I wake at dawn._

_And it fills me up_

_With hope and good will,_

_The will to go on, go on_

_There is a river in Judea_

_That I heard of long ago._

_And it's a singing ringing river_

_That my soul cries out to know."_

By the time Marco was done with the first verse and the chorus Esmeralda was asleep again. The proud papa put his sleeping daughter down and returned to his husband who was still sitting in the kitchen. Marco stopped in the doorway when he saw Dylan sitting with the baby monitor in his hand, a hand that was outstretched with a head full of blond curls resting on it. After watching his husband sleep for a moment Marco walked over to the table and sat in the chair next to Dylan's. As far as the dark skinned man could tell the blond had been listening to his impromptu lullaby over the baby monitor and he was no more immune to it than their young daughter.

"Dylan." Marco said gently resting his hand on the taller man's broad shoulder. "Dyl, honey," he said as the other began to wake up, "As comfy as I'm sure our table is, I think it would be better if you finished your nap in our bed." Dylan muttered something intelligible since his face was still mostly on his arm. "What was that babe?" Marco asked him.

"Only if you join me." He said sleep obvious in his voice.

Marco chuckled and told him, "Of course honey."

Leaning against each other, Dylan leaning more than Marco, they slowly walked up the stairs and to their bedroom. Marco opened the door and led his husband to their bed where he took off his own shoes and socks and Dylan just lay down, not having needed to put on his shoes all day. About thirty seconds after Dylan Marco curled up beneath their blanket. As a natural reaction the older man wrapped his arms around the younger's waist and pulled him closer to his body, both sharing their body warmth.

"I love you Marco." Dylan said suddenly. Marco was surprised having assumed that he was already asleep again.

"I love you too Dylan." He replied.

"I think we should do it." Marco's eyelids flew open at these words, while his husband's remained shut.

"Me too." He admitted.

"I have one condition though." Dylan told him while both smirking and yawning.

The mischief evident even through closed eyes made Marco cautious. "What?"

"I get to tell everyone that we're pregnant." With a chuckle from the Italian and another smirk from his husband the couple fell asleep.

* * *

**_I swear that seemed longer on Word. Sorry if it's too short, I just thought that was a really go place to end the chapter... and I wanted to get it up since I hadn't gotten one up in a while._**


	8. Meet the Grandparents

**So, guess what. I'm not dead! Nor have I forgotten this or any of my stories, they were just very low priority for a very long time. I'll try to do better, but I won't make any promises. I'm really sorry about how long it took me to get this up. I'm also sorry that this isn't as long as I'd like it to be, but I got everything done in this chapter that I wanted. So yeah, thanks for not totally giving up, hope this is at least satisfying.  
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"Hey Megan. It's Marco." Marco said into the kitchen phone. "Yeah, I talked to Dylan." He listened for a minute before continuing, "Well," he took a breath and smiled, "We want to adopt your baby."

Dylan could just imagine the sigh of relief that Megan would be releasing at that news. The only real experience Dylan had ever had with rape was his little sister's many years ago, and that was traumatic enough. He could only imagine what Megan was going through finding out that she was carrying the child of her rapist. However, he admired her courage; many people would simply get rid of the baby, but not only was she having the baby, she also wanted to be present in its life.

When Dylan tuned back into his husband's end of the conversation he was making plans with Megan for her and her parents to come over for dinner sometime soon. Through all the counseling Marco had done with Megan, he hadn't met her parents yet, and both he and Dylan wanted to get an idea about how they were handling everything as well as how they felt their grandchild's perspective adoption. Most people worry about the victim in cases like rapes, and when that victim winds up pregnant as a result of the crime, they worry even more about her. How many people stop and wonder how her parents are dealing with it? Does she avoid her father the same way she avoids every other man? Does she let her mother hold her as she cries? Can she look them in the eyes? How do they even know what to say to her?

Then, just when they think they may be getting a grip on the situation, another bombshell is dropped on them: a baby. One has to wonder if they wanted her to keep it, get rid of it, or if they supported the adoption. All his musings just served to reinforce Dylan's conviction that he and Marco were doing the right thing by inviting Megan and her parents to dinner.

"Hey Megan. Mr. and Mrs. Williams." Dylan said politely as he opened the door. "How are you?"

"We're very well Mr. Michalchuk." Mrs. Williams replied with a smile. Something about her smile seemed off to Dylan, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He wanted everything to go well.

Megan looked around as she took off her coat. "Where's Marco?" she asked.

At that same moment Marco came bustling out of the kitchen. "Megan! I'm so glad you're here." He said while hugging her. "These must be your parents." Marco smiled and shook each of their hands enthusiastically. "I'm Marco Del Rossi. You've obviously already met my husband Dylan. Why don't we all go sit in the living room while we wait for the food to finish cooking?" Dylan looked away from the overzealous Italian to Megan's father. He had an uncomfortable look on his face. His stare was fixed on the pink polka-dotted apron Spinner had given Marco as a joke a few years ago.

Dylan cleared his throat, "Um, honey. Why don't you take off your apron? You shouldn't need it in the living room." He tried to make a joke, but the looks on the elder Williams' faces was making him nervous. His husband, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the awkwardness in the air as he laughed and brought his apron into the kitchen. He came back into the foyer and led the group into the living room, chatting happily about the dinner he had prepared.

The five had just settled on the couches when two things happened at once. They heard Esme wake up over the baby monitor and the timer for the food went off. Both men excused themselves and went their separate ways, Dylan up the stairs and Marco to the kitchen. When Dylan reached his daughter's room he picked her up and she instantly began to calm down. This, of course made Dylan doubt that there had been anything wrong with her in the first place.

"Silly girl." He said affectionately, "What are you going to do when there's another baby in the house?" The little girl just yawned and smiled at her daddy. Dylan chuckled and began walking downstairs to rejoin the William's family.

As he approached he heard Mr. Williams say, "I still don't like it."

"Daddy, please, give them a chance. They're super nice." Megan pleaded.

"A child should not be raised in this kind of family. A child needs a father _and _a mother. Not two fathers. Is this really the life you want for your baby?"

"Daddy, can we not do this here, you know, in their house?"

Mr. Williams began to object when his wife cut in, "Honey, really, this can wait until we get home. For now, let's just have a nice dinner with the man who's done so much for our daughter." After that Megan's dad relented.

Dylan stood frozen in the hallway. It'd been so difficult to get Esme, they'd fought so hard. As long as it had taken, they had won. It was all worth it the moment he held his baby girl in his arms. Now he and his husband were facing that prejudice again. Dylan took a deep breath and vowed to fight for Megan's baby. It wasn't about her parents; it was about her and her child.

He put on the most sincere smile he could and walked back into the living room. "Someone wanted to come say hi." He said in that sappy voice a parent uses when talking about his baby.

Megan stood up and up and walked over to Dylan, "Hi Esme." She said with a smile. "You sure are a cutie." The little girl hid her face in her daddy's neck.

"She just woke up." Dylan said in response to the vaguely hurt look on Megan's face. "Give her a little while."

Dylan held his daughter close to him as he moved to sit in an armchair. He tried his best not to glare at Mr. Williams, but it he was finding it difficult. He just looked back at the little girl in his arms, and he was calmed instantly.

They made it all the way to dessert before the situation blew up. Everyone had finished eating, Esme had been put to bed and Marco was getting up to clear the plates. Dylan quickly stood to help and both carried the dishes into the kitchen. Marco looked at his husband with a smile and said, "That went well, don't you think?" Dylan wanted to tell him what he'd overheard, but Marco's smile was so genuine, so hopeful, he didn't want to ruin his lover's night.

Instead, he simply smiled tightly and said, "Sure." He should have known Marco wouldn't buy it.

"What's that look for? You don't like them?" He asked

Dylan sighed, "I don't think they're too worried about us liking them. At least, not her dad."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, Marco. Let's just finish the evening and talk about this later, okay?" Dylan could tell the smaller man didn't want to let it go, but he was also too polite to let his guests sit alone in the dining room for too long.

Unfortunately, when they walked back into the room Megan's dad was in the middle of another rant. "I'm sorry, Megan, but I do not want my grandchild raised by people like that."

"Like what, Mr**. **Williams?" Marco asked coldly. "What is it about us that you don't like? What makes you think we're not good enough for your grandchild?" As far as Marco was concerned, every child should be so lucky as to live in a home like theirs. There were two parents, who loved each other, were both college-educated and had stable jobs. They owned a beautiful home in a nice neighborhood and had plenty of supportive extended family. They may not be incredibly rich, but they never had to go without. Most of all, they would love their children and take care of them.

"Gay." Mr. Williams said, interrupting Marco's thoughts. "That's the type of person I don't want my grandkid raised by. You can do whatever you want, pretend you're normal or whatever, just keep it away from my family."

"Dad!" Megan yelled, appalled.

"Stay out of this Megan!" Marco and Dylan both began to defend her, but the teen herself beat them to it.

"No, Dad! I won't stay out of it!" Megan yelled at her father "This is my child and it is _my_ decision. Not yours!" She pointed to Marco and Dylan, "These are good men, and Marco's already helped me so much. They're obviously good parents and they can give this baby so much more than I could." She was crying at this point "I'm a teenager. I want to go to Prom and graduate with my class, I want to go to college and travel the world. I can't be a parent. I don't _want_ to be a parent. They can be parents, _great_ parents. They already are. God, can't you see that?" Everyone just looked at Megan with shocked expressions as she plopped back into her seat. Megan's mom was the first to speak up. "I think it's clear that Megan has made her decision. Now, Mr. Del Rossi, if you and your husband still want to go through with this, I will support it. As for my husband, well, he and I will be having a very serious conversation tonight." The woman looked demure, but it was clear she had power over her spouse in that moment.

Mr. Williams cleared his throat and grumbled, not meeting anyone's gaze. Then he said more loudly, "I'll go wait in the car."

His wife turned to her hosts and said, "I'm so sorry about him. He's usually not like this. It's just all the stress getting to him." Dylan was momentarily disgusted at her for making excuses for him, but he had to admit, if he was in the man's shoes he might say things he didn't mean as well. After all, he was being asked to trust a stranger with his family, when it was a stranger who had put his family in this situation in the first place. Megan's mother sent the couple one last apologetic look and said, "Well, thank you so much for dinner, I hope we can do this again. With better results, of course." And then she followed her husband out the door.

The couple looked at the young girl wiping her eyes with a napkin. Marco went to sit next to her while Dylan watched the pair. "I'm so sorry. I totally understand if you guys change your mind and want nothing to do with my family."

"Oh, honey," Marco replied, rubbing a hand soothingly up and down her back "That was nothing. Dylan and I have both heard so much worse. This doesn't change anything, not for us. Right, Dyl?"

"Of course." Dylan said quickly. He moved to sit on Megan's other side. "We're in this Megan, we are completely in this. It means so much to us both that you're trusting us like this. I just hope we can live up to it."

Megan sniffled. "I'm not worried about you guys." She rested her hand lightly on her belly. "This baby's gonna be so lucky to have you."

"Megan, why don't you come over again in a couple of days? We can talk some more about all the details. You can bring your parents again, or come alone, whatever you want. We'll make it a little more casual next time." Dylan offered hopefully.

She laughed a little, looked at Dylan and said, "Thanks. I'd like that."

Megan left a couple minutes later. After the door closed behind her, Dylan looked at his husband and said, yeah, that went really well.


End file.
